A motor vehicle that has and uses at least one electric motor for driving or moving is referred to as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. In this case, during a driving operation of the motor vehicle, the at least one electric motor can be supplied with electrical energy from at least one electrical energy store, which can also be referred to as a battery or rechargeable battery. Said at least one electrical energy store can be, for example, a high-voltage battery (HV battery). Said high-voltage battery can in turn be supplied with electrical energy in a charging operation.
The trend in the development of HV batteries is for batteries having a higher rated voltage. As a result, the cable dimensions and the weight of the electrical components in the vehicle can be reduced since, given an increasing voltage, lower current intensities are required for reaching a desired power. An increase in the voltage is associated with additional requirements not just for the components in the vehicle but also for the external infrastructure required to charge the HV battery. Charging stations having a rated voltage of more than 800 V are hardly available at present. It would therefore be desirable for HV battery systems of this kind to also be able to be charged using the currently available charging infrastructure.
HV batteries usually contain a plurality of battery modules. In order to limit the damage in the case of an internal short circuit, electrical fuses are normally provided between the modules. Said fuses must be able to be replaced easily so that in the event of a failure the mean time to repair (MTTR) is as short as possible.
US 2016/272084 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a charging system for a vehicle battery set, wherein a plurality of charging devices are each connected to a corresponding number of battery module sections of the battery set.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,936 A, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a vehicle battery set having a plurality of battery arrangements and having a fuse connected in series between each battery arrangement and the plug in order to provide an interface for the actuating circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,704,485 B1, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a vehicle battery set having batteries that are arranged in a plurality of sections and switch fuses that are connected in series with each battery module.
Furthermore, it is desirable to have a simple option for isolating the battery from the internal circuit and for making the connections thereof potential-free so that safe assembly, disassembly or transport of the HV battery is possible.